Checking into your sadness...

I was reading an article this morning on the Real Age website about feeling sad but not knowing why. Real Age (2010) explain "Feel sad sometimes but don't know exactly why? Tempted to just brush past it? Well, don't. Understanding the source of your sadness can be key to moving on." The article recommended doing some journaling to help sort out the feelings.  Below is a good visual journal exercise to help process what's going on.  To read the rest of the article from Real Age click here. 

When life is hard, sometimes finding words is hard. This visual journal idea provides an outlet when words are hard to find.

1. You will need a pile of old magazines.
2. You may find it helpful to use an art notebook for its sturdy paper and for keeping your journal in order, but any blank page will serve well as your background.
3. Choose one of the following prompts for your page: "I feel . . .," "I need . . .,"  "I desire . . .," or "I wish I could say . . ."
4. Look through magazines for pictures (or parts of pictures), colors, and words that express your emotions or desires.
5. Feel free to cut or tear the images, etc. as feels right for your state of being. This is about your need to express your internal state, no one will see it.
6. You may glue images, words down as you go or collect all the pieces that feel right for this session and then start gluing.
7. Again this is not about artistic skill, organize the pieces in a way that works for you and your journey.
8. Place the date on the back or some place on the page.
9. You may find it helpful to do this exercise on some kind of regular basis. If it is something you find that you can do quickly, a daily page may be very helpful. If you are someone who takes more time, processing images, words and their organization, you may find a weekly schedule helpful.
10. Store your pages together. Someday you will want to look back over your pages. If you keep them in order or have them dated, you will notice differences in your pages as you progress through your journey.